First, I'll bet you could get someone to tear out that section of carpet and replace the damaged section of your carpet and padding for a song. Spray something on the cement that will kill germs and the scent while you are at it.

Can you move the cat and the litter box to the main floor and keep the cat out of the basement completely? I'm not sure how easy it is going to be - turning an outside cat into an inside cat.

You may have to trust that he will be fine outside - if he is a real outside cat.
Maybe he'll get the hang of the new neighborhood.

Kilz. You can get it for cement and walls. I agree with golddust about getting the section replaced but 20, 1' circles might be a lot of carpet, I am guessing. 8wks seems like enough time to transition. Where was box in prior home. If it was on the main floor maybe you need to have this box on the main floor also. He may not like being sent to the basement.

I can sympathize with you. My siamese has started pooping on my master bath carpet. DH found a farm she can live on if it keeps up. No kidding. She has been peeing on my dd's bed whenever she leaves blankets bunched up. We think dog keeps her from going downstairs to box. So we just moved box to kids bath. We got the crystal type of litter so there won't be little particals on the floor when they use the shower. So far so good. And dd has been making her bed daily.

My previous home got serious damage over the years and we used the Kilz when we sold the house. It really worked.

Thanks for the above posts. I have cut out the 20 foot sections, pads and nail tack strips(EHHwww that really stunk!) I now am soaking the concrete in vinegar. I appreciate the Kilz idea. Funny thing is, is it going to just do it again? I mean hello kitty, this has to stop. I think the litter boxes are fine, he just thinks this is acceptable since I have not noticed for 8 weeks! He has not peed today so I am on the warpath! I have my spray bottle ready! I am just sad for the kids, they love this cat (I do too) but can not live in a cat urine smelling home... What a bummer... I guess If this doesn't work, he is going to have to have a new home without us...

Definitely put a litter box in the exact same area where he peed. And have them scattered through out the house.

One suggestion I heard many years ago, and I did it whenever I got a new kitten, was if they were to poop on the floor, put the poop in their box. So if you have some in one box, put it in the new box. lol.

That's obviously his fave place to go, so get an extra box. Maybe it will work and you won't have to get rid of him.

The BEST product I have ever seen for cat pee is Hartz Nodor (No Odor) litterbox spray. It's green and comes in a clear spray bottle. I visited my sister a few months ago and her elderly male cat peed all over the top of my fabric suitcase as soon as I laid it down. We used paper towels to absorb the pee then sprayed the spot liberally with the Hartz spray.....absolutely no smell whatsoever. I thought I'd have to throw that suitcase away, but there is no telltale odor AT ALL. If you can't find it locally, you can get it on Amazon.

Nature's Miracle is another good product. The enzyme treatments are what work best. I wonder if the previous owner's pet soiled down there. Do you mean there are 20 one foot areas throughout the basement? I would definitely keep him out of the basement and provide a litter box on each floor. High praise for using them and keep them immaculate for him.

A cat I know was put on tranquilizers due to the stress of other cats and peeing inappropriately. Sad long-term but talk to your vet about the problem.

O.K. -- try a bit of cat nip (yep -- the totally organic stuff! LOL) in the litter box -- and make sure that it is sitting on papers PLUS a rubber boot mat.

And use a cat-off spray on the rug ....

Also IF it has a lid -- he/she may not like it! We had to remove the lids to our litter boxes ....

PLUS -- does he/she have a scratching post or pad to help relieve stress??

Yes -- you MAY have to let him outside -- BUT be sure to call him after a very short time, leave a light on -- and shake a box of cat chow or kibble to make sure that he hears it!

Don't forget a collar and I.D. tag!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

We found a stray cat a few months ago. he HATES my cat and started peeing in the house after a month. Did every test under the sun only to find out it was just stress. Put him on kitty prozac ( fluoxetine) and it stopped within 48 hrs. It may sound crazy, but it saved his life. The $20 a month is well worth it since he is such a sweetheart! It is even available in a liquid form that I just squirt into his food.

You can also post this over on the pet forum side- great and caring people over there with lots of experience and ideas.

Good Luck

Shannon, you don't cut out the circles, you cut out the entire section the cat has decided is his bathroom. One straight cut. MUCH cheaper than having someone cut circles. LOL!

I don't know any cat who likes the crystals alone. Try the World's Best litter. It's ground corn and less tracking. Change out the box completely when you see it getting finer in texture. Buy the red bag.

Odor Mute is the cheapeast and most effective enzyme cleaner. You can get it at tons of places online. Some local stores may carry it also. I know Petsmart doesn't.

Just a note on World's Best, my experience was that it was terribly dusty and really bad with urine odor. I clean the boxes a couple times a day so it wasn't that. Another thing with litters, is that a lot of cats do NOT like scented ones or ones that have odd textures under their feed like the pellets and probably crystals too. Something fine and sand like, no perfume, clean box at all times especially when cats are sharing them. No lid as someone mentioned. One on each floor for easy access.

It's good to hear prozac works on the problem too. The cat I know that's on tranquilizers is a bit out of it and has gained a lot of weight. Not sure why that med was chosen. She is under a doctor's care.

I realize you just moved, but the first thing you should do is take him to the vet and make sure he doesn't have a UTI or crystals in his urine. Once illness is ruled out, then you can address the problem - which probably is him being pissed off (no pun intended) about being moved to a new home. He liked his old one! You've upset his routine.

The longer it goes on, the longer it will take to correct. I've read one homeowner bought a large crate (housed cat, room to walk around, food and litter box) and crated them for two weeks while their cat was retrained to the litter box. A room make work, with window, but somewhere he can see people, be loved on (not forgotten) and interact with people would be better.

Calming agents, such a Feliway, work for some. Others benefit from Clomicalm or Prozac (given at bedtime) make make them a little loopy, but that's better than peeing everywhere.

That's a very good point that was missed in all this! Stress can cause uti's so it's quite possible he's got a health reason for the behavior.

Well thanks everyone for your input. I must say today I put a litter box in the spot he peed in and bingo he immediately used it. Little bugger, it can't be that simple all this time. He likes the corner? I mean come on kitty! I hesitate to change anything, litter and all for now. He is on watch constantly. He is healthy just stressed with the move!

Golddust- Did that sound like I meant cut out each circle? lol. You all must think I am wacko or something. No, seriously, I was trying to agree with removing the damaged area, UNLESS the 20 circles basically was the entire room, not just a corner of a really large basement.

Ok, now I am confusing myself...... glad he used the box in the corner. So far my kitty is using her box now that it is upstairs.

Yay, it worked! That was the advice I heard 30 years ago and it worked every time for me. I use the unscented Scoop Away, two cats share it, & I just "scoop away" every day!

It's important to use the World's Finest in the red bag as the texture is not fine and to change out the entire box when you see it become more powdery. For one cat usage I would think every 3 weeks or so. I have multiple cats and have to change out the entire box every seven days. I've tried every litter on the market. The best clay scoopable is Tidy Cat with the blue lid/print. Scoop Away is by far one of the dustiest of all.

Thanks. I did try the yellow bagged product. I don't remember an option, it was some years ago. Maybe I'll try the red one again. I like my current litter, as a litter itself, but the dust is getting to me (will also have to see if it's dustier than the TC. It seemed comparable to the others at the time). 99 % dust free is very dusty! I always read it as meaning 99% of the dust was removed. Maybe it just means 99% by volume. Whatever, it's misleading and silly. Hardly dust free.

Looks like it is two for two. OP's kitty is behaving and so is mine. Even when my dd forgets to make her bed kitty has not peed on it. The litter box is just in next room, kids bath. DD has kept bath much cleaner too. No more towels on the floor. Using the crystal litter is great, no little stuff on the floor and there is no smell. Of course that is also because dd had to shower with @#$@ or scoop it regularly! I worried that the upstairs would start smelling but since dd has had to keep up or wear a clothespin there has literally not been one time when a wiff of eeeewwww came my way.

So lets lift our scoopers to two sucess stories. And the kitties should be grateful we still allow them to live with us and are not barn kitties. lol